Chapter 30
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This attire…
Fu Nian instantly recognized the identity of the person who had come. He held his breath, not daring to move at all.
The footsteps almost stopped by his side.
Closing his eyes, Fu Nian could sense that the light from the lantern had stopped beside him, and the sound of breathing was only a step away.
Yet, Fu Nian still didn’t dare to move.
Clearly, during Chu Yao’s previous visit, he could confidently catch him red-handed… But now that he had a good idea of the visitor’s identity, he didn’t even dare to open his eyes.
Time passed by second by second, and the sound of breathing still lingered beside him.
In the past, pretending to be unconscious for several hours was no challenge, but now, lying still for an extra second felt like torture.
After lying there for a while, Fu Nian decided to take the initiative.
Entering without permission was thievery. If he didn’t know the circumstances and caught a thief, it wouldn’t be considered wrong…
With this in mind, Fu Nian immediately sat up, grabbing towards the person beside him, tightly pinching them and not letting go. Before he had a chance to turn his head to look, a soft voice rang out.
“No longer pretending to be asleep?”
With a calm and cold voice, Fu Nian was so frightened that he quickly withdrew his left hand, lowered his head, and didn’t dare to move.
It’s really that man…
Why did he come here? What is he doing here? If I stand up to bow, the book… With this thought, Fu Nian quickly turned his body to feel around for the forbidden book hidden in the bedding.
It was still there; Fu Nian temporarily let out a sigh of relief.
“Apologies if I have offended,” Fu Nian said, and then pulled his left hand inward, “Greetings to Your Majesty. Your Majesty, why have you come here?” This time, Fu Nian wasn’t pretending; he was genuinely startled and couldn’t speak coherently. After speaking, he clumsily got up to bow, actually tucking the forbidden book deeper into the blanket.
“In this palace, is there a place that is off-limits to Zhen?” The man in dragon robes spoke in a calm and measured tone, devoid of urgency, making it all the more eerie.
Of course, Fu Nian wasn’t implying that.
This time, the other party didn’t waive the need for him to bow. Fu Nian had to think hard to make his movements appear slower and more in line with common sense while getting up to bow. As long as the person in front of him didn’t suddenly uncover the blanket, he might be able to hide the book.
After kneeling properly, Fu Nian kept his head lowered, waiting for the man in front of him to speak.
In the silence, suddenly, a piece of metal was thrown in front of Fu Nian.
Seeing the waist badge given to him by his senior brother, Fu Nian was shocked, and his breath stalled for a moment.
Sure enough, Chu Yao had handed over this waist token…
The palace guards’ connections with outsiders were varied. Speaking about it lightly, they were friends before entering the palace, merely looking out for each other. But in a more serious view, it could be seen as collusion, even treason, which was a capital offense.
“Somebody claimed that this waist token was found on your person. Collaborating with external forces should result in a direct verdict of guilt. Even immediate execution wouldn’t be excessive. However, considering your injuries, which render you immobile, it’s quite possible you were slandered by someone. Therefore, Zhen came to investigate personally…” At this point, Chu Zhaoyi paused intentionally.
Only then did Fu Nian notice that this room was not just occupied by him and Chu Zhaoyi.
As long as he dared to move recklessly, he was likely to be killed on the spot.
“Didn’t expect you would be able to move so soon, and even slip out of the Imperial Hospital. And then, after returning, you could still pretend to be asleep,” Chu Zhaoyi’s voice was still devoid of fluctuations. After speaking, he pushed the waist token on the bed, “The previous person who served in Chengyuan Hall and dared to collude with external ministers’ wills was executed by dismemberment and put on public display.”
“I would never dare to collude with external ministers,” Fu Nian quickly replied.
The traitor who was executed by dismemberment was witnessed by Fu Nian as well, as he was the one who provided the evidence of rebellion. He testified that this person was trying to conspire with external ministers. Without hesitation, Chu Zhaoyi imposed the penalty. Today, the evidence Chu Zhaoyi had was handed over by Chu Yao…
Fu Nian hadn’t thought of the rest of his words.
After thinking quickly for a moment, since he was being questioned, it indicated that the other party wasn’t certain if he had seen someone or done something. Moreover, they only mentioned his escape from the Imperial Hospital, indicating that they probably didn’t know he had left the palace and returned.
“This waist token… this official found it, and it looked so exquisite that this official was tempted by its value. This official took it and stored it on my person, motivated by greed. This official knows he was wrong!” After completing his fabricated explanation, Fu Nian lowered himself even more, “This official acknowledges his moral degradation, coveting ill-gotten wealth, but colluding in such matters, this official truly wouldn’t dare.”
After speaking, Fu Nian felt that cold sweat had soaked through half of his clothes.
Appropriating property that didn’t belong to him, even if it was taken from the ground, was a much lighter charge than colluding with external ministers. The former at most would lead to a beating and demotion, while the latter would result in being executed without exception.
“Mm.” Chu Zhaoyi signified that he had heard.
Fu Nian continued, “Earlier, this official did slip out of the Imperial Hospital to… to…”
He hadn’t figured out how to finish the sentence when he suddenly saw Chu Zhaoyi’s gesture.
If he managed to leave the palace without being discovered, he might have been able to get away with it. Although Fu Nian knew that the person in front of him wasn’t easy to deceive, he didn’t expect him to fully believe what he had just said.
“Li Gonggong,” Chu Zhaoyi didn’t pay him any more attention, shouting a command towards outside the room.
Immediately, Li Gonggong briskly entered the room, hunching his back as he stood by the bedside.
Chu Zhaoyi had a stern expression as he continued giving orders, “Uncover his blanket. There’s likely evidence of his collusion with foreign officials hidden inside. I want to see just how he plans to explain his way out of this.”
Fu Nian dared not move at all.
That book…
It certainly wasn’t evidence of rebellion, but thinking about the contents… Fu Nian gritted his teeth, he would rather face the evidence of rebellion and be executed swiftly and cleanly.
He watched as Li Gonggong, with a serious expression, easily lifted the blanket and retrieved the untitled book.
“Reporting to Your Majesty, the servant has found—”
This time, Fu Nian was truly anxious and interrupted before Li Gonggong could continue, “Your servant really wouldn’t dare to collude with external ministers. This book… it’s just a leisure read. It’s not—”
“Read out loud what’s written inside.” Chu Zhaoyi paid no attention to his anxious tone and continued to command Li Gonggong.
Fu Nian didn’t respond, keeping his kneeling posture as stable as possible while sneakily glancing at Li Gonggong.
Li Gonggong opened the book, and his initially serious expression instantly changed. His brows furrowed several times, as if he was hesitating to speak.
“What’s the matter?” Chu Zhaoyi noticed that Li Gonggong’s silence and odd expression irritated him even more, his displeasure evident.
“This, this… Your Majesty, please forgive me!” Li Gonggong hurriedly knelt down.
The content was too inappropriate and contrary to morality to be read aloud. Chu Zhaoyi didn’t want to trouble Li Gonggong further; he directly took the book.
When he opened the first page, the perpetually expressionless countenance twitched involuntarily.
Fu Nian held his breath.
Seeing Chu Zhaoyi trying to maintain his composure while subtly wrinkling his brows, Fu Nian realized that the images in the book must have been even more inappropriate than he had imagined.
He wish he could start life anew, Fu Nian thought.
The time he spent waiting for Chu Zhaoyi to finish flipping through the book felt like an eternity.
Chu Zhaoyi turned to the last page, closed the book, and slammed it onto the bed with a forceful noise that was almost jarring.
Fu Nian couldn’t dare to look at Chu Yao’s expression, but he could roughly guess the extent of his anger from the sound of the book hitting the bed.
“Send Chu Yao outside the main hall to kneel, even in such matters, he dares to lie without proper investigation.” Chu Zhaoyi restrained his anger for a while before issuing an order to the eunuch by his side, trying to suppress his rage, “Withdraw the personnel from the Ministry of Justice and the Shadow Guard as well.”
Fu Nian’s heart sank.
So, they suspected him of colluding with external ministers. They came to question him and possibly capture him…
“What about him…”
Chu Zhaoyi knew what Li Gonggong was about to say. He flicked his hand, sighed, and interrupted, “I overestimated him.”
Fu Nian: …
Indeed, with the book and the fabricated story he just made up, it did indeed fit the image of “morally corrupt,” making it difficult for people to disbelieve.
“Your servant obeys.” After hearing this, Li Gonggong seemed to understand the situation and relaxed his tensed posture.
However, as Li Gonggong walked to the threshold, he was called back.
“Wait,” as if a thought struck him, Chu Zhaoyi halted Li Gonggong, who was about to leave, “Let the Ministry of Justice personnel leave. Leave the ropes and shackles behind.”
Fu Nian was taken aback and suddenly felt an ominous premonition. Although he didn’t dare to speak, he remained kneeling, his throat nervously dry.
He dared to lift his eyes slightly and saw that Chu Zhaoyi’s gaze was still fixed on the “forbidden book,” his expression dark and unsympathetic. His narrowed eyes gave off an icy aura as he continued his cold commands, “Place the ropes and shackles outside the door. I’ll go get them. Also, don’t let anyone in, including the Little Royal Uncle.”
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